28-03-2024, 11:13
"With the coming of spring I am calm again," Gustav Mahler once said, confirming my suspicion that he was never an Albion fan. The time of year when bums squeak, fingernails vanish and trousers turn brown is upon us again, and though our current playoff cushion stands at eight points, the teams liable to catch us all have a game in hand while we face a tricky Easter double-header.
First up is a trip to Bermondsey on Good Friday to reacquaint ourselves with Millwall, who are far from safe despite being the best-placed side in the eight-team relegation dogfight. Having held us to no-score draws in our two most recent encounters, and beaten us on eight of our last eleven visits to the Den, they're also unbeaten on Good Friday since a defeat to Yeovil way back in 2009. Albion, on the other hand, haven't won a Good Friday match on the road since beating Spurs at White Hart Lane in - wait for it - 1930. As a general rule it's not ideal when your last triumph had to share the headlines with the discovery of Pluto, and to make matters worse, Millwall have won both of their home fixtures since the return of Neil Harris. Still, Albion are six games unbeaten and have avoided defeat on the road for over two months now, so although Millwall will look for the clean sheet and a cheeky goal, hopefully we can spoil the party with the kind of positive attacking play we showed in the second half at Huddersfield. Our solitary victory from the last eleven played at the Den came in our most recent promotion under Slaven Bilic, so success on Friday would bode well.
Monday then brings Watford to the Hawthorns, their season all but done as they drift away from both dogfight and promotion chase in mid-table. They'll give us a game, without doubt, and banana skins are always best watched out for at this stage of the campaign; but all things being equal, we should be capable of getting the job done on home soil once more.
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley